I made it! At
2.45 pm this afternoon we (me and my trusty bike...) rolled in gently to
a sunny and warm John o'Groats. The end of a wonderful journey through
England, Wales and Scotland.
I set of at
6.45am after countless pieces of buttered toast, a nice change from a
fry-up. With the sun shining, my route is following the A9 towards Wick,
but as it's early the road is not too busy. After 30km I encountered
some serious, long hill climbs, one of which I walked up. Some way
before Wick my route went West off the A99 onto quieter roads into an
area of forest and heathland with wild sheep. More long straight climbs
then East towards my destination, now with spectacular views across to
The Orkney Islands. The temperature had been rising during the day and
when I arrived at JOG the reading on my satnav was 30 degrees. Yesterday
morning it was 10 deg. and I had numb fingers...
I got one of the
many tourists to take my photo at the famous signpost and obtained the
rubber stamp (for the T-shirt) at the tourist info.
I sat for a
while with an ice cream and tea and biscuits admiring the view, and
while there three more "LeJoggers" turned up. 45 minutes later on the
bike again for the 20 mile ride to my overnight stop in Thurso. The
Holborn Hotel is pleasant enough and downed an enormous plate of pasta
(with a pint of beer brewed just across the water on the Orkneys) in the
hotel bar.
My train leaves
tomorrow morning at 8.40 with 16 hours to get back to the car in
Deal....plenty of time to write an epilogue to this trip....Stats:
Day total: 114km ( 71.2 miles)
Average speed: 17 km/h (10.6 mph)
Max. speed: 51.4 km/h
kCal: 2539
TOTAL TRIP DISTANCE: 1563 km 977 miles
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| The last long hills |
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| sheep....... |
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| John o'Groats harbour |
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| Raven Ale, brewed in The Orkneys |
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